


have your pick of heroes

by montressor



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, She/her pronouns for reader, Sparring, plus a few ocs bc i am SELF INDULGENT!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27558814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/montressor/pseuds/montressor
Summary: “She’s one hell of a captain,” Someone calls from the back of the room, some kind of awe in his voice. Rex fights the enamoured feeling, settling on a smile rather than a swoon- but he’s inclined to agree. You don’t just meet a woman like that in every galaxy.(Or, Rex starts falling for a fellow Republic captain and wants nothing to do with his feelings, but that’s much easier said than done.)
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	have your pick of heroes

**Author's Note:**

> the title and chapter names are taken from the poem linked below! i finished clone wars months ago and now i’m finally getting around to drafting the first few chaps of this so... here’s a slow burn rex thing i hope to finish!  
> https://pencap.tumblr.com/post/152685439505/please-let-him-be-soft-i-know-you-made-him
> 
> they also embody this post and i couldn't stop thinking about it as i wrote so linking that too:  
> https://andhumanslovedstories.tumblr.com/post/187492750136/mutual-pining-is-delicious-but-recently-ive-been
> 
> i want this to be a one chapter per season thing with canon episodes as well as original things in it so fingers crossed that my thirst for rex stays around long enough to write this!!

When Rex is called into a meeting at 0800, he doesn’t expect the war table to be mostly empty, save for Ahsoka. The air is still cool, and somewhere in him, Rex knows they must be the first ones in. The little padawan yawns, waving at him lazily.

“Hiya, Rex.” She smiles, and Rex nods, pulling the helmet off and placing it by his waist. “Know what they called us in for?”

“No, Commander.” Rex replies, curious now. Morning meetings usually meant battle planning- but this felt more like a briefing. There were no commanders, nor any Jedi- be it physically present or in a holocron. Perhaps this was connected to that timetabled announcement. 

His personal squad file in just on time, saluting him as they enter- Kix, Jesse, Hardcase. Just as Ahsoka opens her mouth to ask something, the doors whir open- and General Skywalker enters in with someone in tow. Quickly, he puts his helmet back on to see you. 

You’re dressed in what he assumes is your version of armour: gauntlets and shoulder guards, and a sturdy-looking chestplate, though it looks more lighter than his. If he had to guess, you were either reconnaissance or a skirmisher. 

“If I may present the Captain joining our battalion.” General Skywalker bows jokingly, and Rex is worried about the lack of formality until you elbow Anakin in his side. He backs up, still grinning, and rests a hand on your shoulder in a show of support. "She's from the planet Maratha, located in the mid-rim."

 _‘Great,’_ Rex thinks half tiredly and half fondly, _‘Now there are two of them.’_

You turn then, regarding him with a kind smile.

“Thanks, General.” You introduce yourself- name, rank, speciality- the works that apply to any soldier- before debriefing: “Maratha is well known for being militaristic, of course. Ever since Mandalore went pacifist, we’ve been the better fighters this side of the galaxy. We'd easily give 'em a run for their money, at least.”

“And now that Maratha has joined forces with us, they’re here to teach our troops their tactics.” Anakin says. “Republic leads want the clones and Marathan soldiers to work together. Learn from each other to become better, efficient fighters.”

“I assume this is today's announcement?” Rex asks.

Anakin replies for you, “As Commander-Marshal, Cody will be sending an announcement. Troopers on-duty will be reported to after their tour ends.” Rex nods, fine with that answer. The conversation is about to move on when a certain Jedi Padawan surges forward.

“I’m Ahsoka Tano! It’s nice to meet you,” Ahsoka introduces herself, reaching out a hand and beaming when you shake it tightly with a smile of your own. “So, do you know my master?”

“They let you have a padawan!” You say, a cross between surprised and delighted, before it lilts to a more teasing tone. “She’s nicer than you were.”

“Dunno, I think I rocked the braid better.” Anakin quips, and you roll your eyes.

“No one ‘rocks the braid’, Ani.” You deadpan, before turning back to Ahsoka. “Sorry- Anakin and I met when he was a padawan and I was a recruit.” You explain, “There was some trouble in the military. He and Master Obi Wan fixed that, but not before running into my quarters to hide.”

“Hide?” Ashoka teases, and Anakin rolls his eyes.

“ _Tactical retreat._ ” Anakin corrects, and he shoves your side. “Maker knows why I kept in touch with you.”

“Besides my dashing good looks?” You snort, shoving back, and Anakin laughs too. It’s not too often he does that, Rex thinks, with the General so prone to brooding lately. But you seem to make him happy, even if a little exasperated, the way his own brothers do to him. He’s a little lost in his thoughts- so when you address him, he doesn’t hear it. It’s only when you smile awkwardly again at him and his troopers that he realises you’re approaching him.

“Forgive me,” Rex clears his throat, “What did you say, Captain?”

“I wanted you to introduce yourselves. Anakin talks often about his troopers.”

“Captain Rex of the 501st Legion.” He stands a little straighter, saluting, “I directly report to and work under General Skywalker.”

You stick a hand out, “Captain too, huh? We should start a club.”

Rex is surprised by the familiarity: not many soldiers bothered getting to know the clones. He wonders if that habit extended to your men- so Rex lets his hand drift down from his measured greeting and to grasp yours into a solid shake. You look over his shoulder, peeking at his men. Rex drops the grip, shifting left so you can see his company, “This is part of Torrent Company, some of my best men.”

Kix steps forward first, introducing himself. “I head the medics, Captain. It will be a pleasure working with you.”

Hardcase next, “Heavy-duty weapons specialist. I’m good at what I do.”

Then Jesse, “I work closely with Captain Rex and oversee command.”

“Perfect. It’s good to meet you all.” You shake all their hands in turn with twinkling eyes. “I can’t wait till my men get to meet with yours. I have a feeling they’ll like you.”

“The captain here is being deployed on next week’s campaign, actually.” Anakin claps you on the back, “Plenty of time to bond then, and when you get back, you’ll be training in Marathan combat!”

“Like we’re back in cadet training,” Hardcase mutters, and you laugh.

“We’re hoping this will go both ways.” You say, “Hopefully you clones can teach us a thing or two about being the best standing military in the entire galaxy.” The clones brighten at that, somewhat, and Rex is glad you already know ways to calm them down... even if it means stroking their egos.

“If that’s everything, we can start getting ready to prepare.” Anakin says, “The Marathans have been granted five days to settle in and plan, so training begins after the operation, and if I know Swing, she's not going to go easy on you."

"Don't scare them, Tink." You say, and Anakin chuckles. Ahsoka looks between the two of you, as inquisitive as always.

"Tink and Swing?" She wonders out loud, and Anakin goes pink.

"Nicknames. I'm sure you're familiar with 'em, Snips," He says quickly, eager to change the subject, "And they can be explained some other time."

"It's cause they're _embarrassing_ ," You sing-song, and when Anakin shoves you, Ahsoka's given enough proof to understand you were telling the truth. Rex watches the interaction quietly, relieved that they liked you. Rex would like you too, probably- Anakin is... more or less a good judge of character, but perhaps it was too early to judge for himself. 

"It's because he's an engineering nerd," You stage-whisper to General Skywalker's cherished padawan, "And his speeder blew up in his face after he was tinkering with it."

When Ahsoka bursts out laughing, Anakin loftily twirls his lightsaber, "Captain, It's like you _want_ to test the Marathan-Republic partnership."

Rex smiles. He figures they'll be alright.

* * *

Two weeks later, Rex watches Marathan Lieutenant Dir slam another one of his best soldiers into the floor, wincing at the impact. One of the clone training halls had been outfitted with mats, forming a two row of three matches. Out the corner of his eye, he sees the counter flip up for Maratha: 21 to 8. He resists the urge to slap his forehead.

He's not bitter, per say, but the Marathans had begun their training with hand-to-hand sparring. Rex understood why, of course- of all the skills that clones sorely lacked, it was martial arts. With a blaster, most his men were unstoppable, but their Kamino training had hinged on being armed- and their formations fell apart when they didn't have any. When he had requested, all those months ago, to learn older ways of fighting that could take the enemy by surprise, he had not been expecting _this_.

The clones don't seem to be taking to the idea either. Being beaten wasn't something they particularly enjoyed, regardless of whether it was constructive or not. The eight times they had won before was due to skill, but the bruised ego of being beat more than half the time was getting to their performance. 

He thinks of the conversation he'd had with you earlier, when you searched him out for the worries plaguing you. Since arriving, you had been officially assigned to Torrent for battles, though you were to oversee training the entirety of the 501st. In fact, he's willing to say their last mission being completed in half the expected time was largely due to your fighting corps. Ruthless in battle but kind outside of it, you led your men in with a steady voice and calculated moves.

Of course, it's only been a few days, but Rex is confident enough to say the both of you have built up a friendly rapport. Working closely with another Captain has been relaxing, even if he won't admit it: sharing the burden of command wasn't something he did lightly, but Rex saw as well as anyone the talent you had at leading forces. Skywalker might have been charismatic, but he was a Jedi, a group unused to _true_ military structure and planning. With you, he could relate to specific problem... and at least you knew the rulebook, even if you didn't always play by it. 

_"My men are worried yours... how do I put this lightly... don't like them." You say with wrung hands._

_Rex had been expecting this: even he could tell how surprisingly badly his troopers were taking it. “From what I can tell, my men think you’re here to steal their jobs. There were rumours of back-up troops coming to help the Republic, which didn't settle well with the clones. There was some talk of being replaced entirely with a new genetic sample, since Jango Fett died."_

_“That explains the cold reception,” You sigh. “Is there anything you could do?”_

_“They’ve been told. I think having fighters on their level- maybe better- is intimidating for them. Clones have always been told they’re alone in this war, after all.”_

_“There is no ‘_ alone _’ anymore, and there is no ‘_ better fighter _’. This is supposed to be a two way exercise.” You fold your arms, “Force, I hope this clears up soon. We’re all soldiers, and we have to work together to fight the Seps or they’ll catch us off guard.”_

_“How is attitude on your end?” Rex asks curiously, and he’s surprised to see a smile._

_“My men think camaraderie is what makes a good battalion. They were disheartened for about an hour before they started back at it... but I'll tell them to calm down. In both sparring and in personality.”_

_'This is not calming down.'_ Rex thinks helplessly as he hears another groan. _22 to 8._ True to your word, you seem to have spoken to your company, the aptly named _Typhoon_ : three lieutenants, nine sergeants, and a good few troopers that bolstered his own company's numbers considerably. But it would never mean anything if the clones and your men didn't begin to simply stand each other.

Logically, he knew the reason his men were losing this time around was because this was meant as an examination, for you and the other Marathans to figure out what their strengths were and what weren't. It would easily lead into... well, getting beat, but coupled with the clones' bad first impression, the situation was decidedly not getting better. Even more annoyingly, this problem was isolated to the 501st: Cody was getting along swimmingly with his, and Fox had already treated their own Marathan Squad to drinks at _79's_. Anakin's bullheadedness must be rubbing off on them.

When you had told him your men to stop trying so hard to make amends, Rex had sighed with relief.

But either you nor Rex had calculated that the genuine empathy combined with trained military hardheadedness would lead to an incredibly stupid combination of 'overly-compensative' and 'tough love'. Your Marathan soldiers would sweep a clone off their feet, help them up apologetically, and then immediately pinpoint what they did wrong in an earnest attempt to help. 

Your men would turn to you like, _"Look, I'm playing nice! Aren't I so considerate?"_

His men would turn to Rex like, _"If anyone else is condescending towards me, I'm going to fucking kill them."_

The two captains exchange glances. Wordlessly, the both of you know you have to stop this before it escalates to actual violence, and you lean over, "Maybe we should show them how this is done?" You say, and Rex raises his brows.

"What, by _sparring_?" He asks, and your expression turns a little more playful.

"They just need to see their captain win." You shrug, "My ego can take a light bruising if it helps the men, you know."

"So think you're going to _let_ me win?" Rex chuckles, disbelief written all over his face; he doesn't bother to hide it. "I _would_ win."

"I wasn't _letting_ you do anything," You say with narrowed eyes, though there is no actual hostility, "But I wasn't going to make it easy for you."

"Alright." He says, "I suppose I'm taking this as a challenge?"

"I guess you are," You say, excited. He realises you were itching to stretch your legs a little, tired of watching but not being able to join in. "Soldiers, to me!" The troopers listen, obediently following and forming a circle around you as they wait for a further explanation. "I understand your frustration at not getting it immediately. No one starts out perfect, so for the last few minutes, we Captains figure we can show what you can do with even a little training."

Immediately, there are excited murmurs going around the training hall. Cadets Echo and Fives perk up, craning their necks now. Everyone was interested to see how this would play out.

"General Skywalker has shown me a few techniques." Rex addresses the crowd next, pulling off his plate armour, leaving him in his blacks for easier movement. "And so has the Captain. It's well worth it to learn, brothers- I hope to show you that." He moves to one end of the mat, and you circle around to the other side. "Jesse, if you could call it?"

"Yes, sir." He replies- and it's silent as the two of you crouch into brawling positions. Jesse begins his countdown, and you throw over a smile.

"Three-"

"We're gonna be good, right?" You ask, shifting your weight on the balls of your feet.

"Two-"

"We'll be fine. Can't say the same for your face." Rex says good-naturedly.

"One-"

You smirk, "Aw, we'll see about that Captain."

"Begin!"

You make the first move, confident in your abilities. Aiming a fast, strong kick at his head, Rex ducks and counters with a solid punch that you block with your arms. The impact sends you back, and you move with the force of the attack to centre yourself. The two of you circle each other, before Rex rushes and grapples you. You meet the attack, of course, but Rex has the advantage of being a genetically engineered soldier- overpowering you, you're thrown to the ground. He thinks he's gotten the best of you, but you roll with the momentum and get back on your feet just as quickly. _Predictable_ , he chides to himself.

"Nice one, Captain Rex!" One of your lieutenants call, and he's taken aback by the support. But from what he can tell of your men, they praise regardless of bias, so perhaps it's not that unexpected.

You roll your eyes, teasing, "I'll remember that, Abbas!"

"I'm sorry, but-" She laughs, "-well, it was a good throw, Captain!"

Rex goes in with a kick while you're distracted, but you dodge. There's some whooping and cheering now, as the attacks get more intricate. Rex may be able to keep up, but he can tell you've been longer trained in this. You were going easy on him, and the only thing edging him out happened to be his strength.

You land a good blow to his solar plexus, winding him- but his training keeps him safe from the barrage of your next attacks, weaving just out your reach. Punch, block, kick, feint, dive- it keeps going. The tension could is palpable, the men watching with bated breath- and finally, Rex catches you making the wrong move, and he quickly shifts into a position that makes it impossible for you to dodge. He only really thinks it's a mistake when it's too late, catching your expression flash with both regret and fear.

There is a wet crack, and you crumple, clutching your nose. His exhilaration has never disappeared so fast.

" _Osi'kyr_!" Rex's jaw drops, and he's at your side immediately. "I'm so sorry- Maker, Captain, are you alright?"

The clones are visibly worried as well- but your men aren't as bothered. Dazed, you slowly lift yourself up, Rex helping you brace. "It's alright. I wouldn't have sparred unless I knew I could take one hit." Your voice is blubbery, masked by the hand over your nose. "Guess you meant what you said about my face..."

“I was...” He trails off when you move your hand slightly, and Rex pales at the blood. " _Your nose_."

"Yes, I think it's broken." You say, touching it gingerly before retracting your hand quicker, "Ah. It _is_ broken."

Kix jogs up from the crowd, "Don't worry, Captain. We'll re-set it at medbay, it's not far."

"Nice right hook." You nod, face a mess. Rex thinks his heart is failing.

"I'm sorry." He says helplessly as he helps you up to brace on Kix.

"I'm not," You grin toothily, and Rex might die from the amount of blood in your mouth- quickly dismissing the men and trying to ignore the gossipy, excited whispering, he marches towards the medbay with you in-between himself and his medic.

"Did it work?" You ask, trying to see the state of the men from over your shoulder. When it proves difficult while being braced against two people, you end up looking at him expectantly for a report.

Even if it was from bewilderment and shock, Rex sighs when he sees the clones and Marathans mingling. "I... believe so."

"All's well that ends well," You sound pleased with yourself, and Kix laughs.

* * *

He spends the next few days feeling incredibly awkward. Rex even distances himself you during the next campaign: the skirmish itself goes off without a hitch, and- if he does say so himself- Rex had made a pretty impressive show with his pistols, felling nearly 20 droids in 10 seconds. When you had nodded in acknowledgement and given him a thumbs up, he couldn't bear to say anything back. It wasn't like him to get attached this quickly, and with his attachment came the constant, overwhelming urge to apologise. And on the other side of the metaphorical coin, the anger from allowing himself to get too friendly with a fellow solider stops him from approaching you entirely.

 _'There was a war to fight,'_ He levels with himself- the moment he started to try and have fun, despite his duty, Rex got a fellow commanding officer's nose broken. And Cody does not help with all his teasing.

("I'm assuming there was no knife?" Cody asks smugly, "The story is getting twisted. It's like a bad game of holophone."

"There was no knife." Rex rolls his eyes. "But I _did_ break their nose. It was an accident."

"How do you manage to break a friend's nose, _vod'ika_?" He asks, laughing. "You may be the most dense clone I've ever met, and I was batchmates with _Wolffe_.")

In fact, the only thing that snaps himself out the odd cycle of anger is the report that lands on his desk- special delivered to his office by Fox himself, with a note attached. It's not often it happened, and his heart falls out his chest as he reads what had happened: a clone from the 501st had gotten into a brawl involving other citizens and soldiers. A _brawl._

_'Rex-_

_Brother, what, by the force, are you up to? With the nose breaking thing, I'd assumed you had plenty on your hands, but Fives has gone ahead and started a fight on Coruscant. On Coruscant. I hate you so much. Do you know how much paperwork goes into this? There's the stupid hassle of clones not even being classified as people, but property. How do you file paperwork about Republic property physically attacking a citizen? General Skywalker laughed at me when I brought it up and told me to bury it. I intend to, but I figure I should send this to you. It is, after all, your man. _

_His only saving grace is that he didn't start the fight. Someone else did, but the clones refused to give a name. I've never been so proud of them for socialising but so infuriated at the same time._

_Tell Fives he can start a fight anywhere but Coruscant. And tell Echo he's not allowed in Sector 21-F._

_Reh't, vod,  
_ _Commander Fox  
CC-1010  
Coruscant Guard_

Rex takes a long, tired look at the report, stares at his empty caf mug, and decides it wasn't worth his trouble- at least, till the morning came. 

* * *

To his delight and fear, Rex thinks he's stepped into a parallel world the next day. The mess hall is louder than usual- it had been louder for a while, since he broke your nose and the men started to mingle so they could gossip. But today was very much different: Marathans and clones sat together, laughing about something or the other. He peeks over to Fives' table, and the cadet has an arm swung over Dir's shoulder, animatedly waving his arms around. 

"And wouldn't you know it," Fives describes jovially, "I dodge underneath the punch, and he sprawls right onto the bar!" The clones bellow laughter and Rex feels very irritated again.

"Fives." He says dangerously, stalking to the table and holding the report up on his datascreen. "Would you care to share your story with _me_?"

"Captain," Fives blanches, but holds his ground. "We didn't start it."

"You know who did." Rex folds his arms. "Look, shiny. You're not in trouble because Fox went to Skywalker to sign off, and the General happened to think it was funny. There won't even be a record of it." He watches Fives relax, and doubles down on the glare. "But you cannot be doing this. You're on latrine duty for a month, vod."

"A month?! Why?" Dir exclaims, and Rex blinks- why was _Dir_ getting involved?

"He started a bar fight." Rex says blankly, "One he was bragging about."

"No, I did." Dir presses, and Rex actually pauses.

_"What?"_

"No, wait. Dir couldn't start anything, even if he wanted to." A Marathan on the same table pipes up. "I threw the first punch."

"Shut _up_ , Jay!" Fives kicks them under the table. The commotion is starting to draw the attention of other tables. "They're trying to look cooler than they are, Captain. It was my fight."

" _Our_ fight." Dir corrects.

"I'm sorry," Rex interrupts, astounded. "Are you fighting for _latrine duty_?" The men pause, looking guilty. The other half of their table stay staunchly quiet, not wanting to give anything away, and Rex massages his temples. "Would one of you just explain what happened?"

Jay meets his eyes first. "It was me. We were out for a drink after a round of joint training. I helped them get in the first place. They wanted to go to 79's and I wouldn't let them cause I wanted them to go to this bar with Marathan food, so they could try the curry. Except it was kinda bad, and it's owned by some random Coruscanti guy that couldn't tell Marathan from Chalactan. So we thought we'd go to another bar before attempting to drunk cook."

That's so incredibly mundane and long winded that Rex almost loses it halfway. "Soldier, your point?"

"Someone said something..." Dir continues for him, and says something in Marathan that Rex is inclined to believe is a swear, "When we were leaving, someone tried to pick a fight. Echo said something about being used to it- clones are property here, apparently."

"That's true." Rex reaffirms, and your men scoff. 

"It shouldn't be." Jay says, indignant. "That's not right. So I punched that drunk, horrible man. And someone came to his defence, and Fives pushed him away before he could hurt _me_. So I'm the one who should be on latrine duty." The last sentence is delivered so full of righteous, loyal fury that Rex is stunned. He takes a moment, looking back and forth between your men and his own, wondering what possessed them to act so stupid, and yet, so selflessly.

"Who participated in the fight?" Rex asks, and slowly, the entire table's hands go up. 

"I don't have jurisdiction over _Typhoon_ , but I'm sure the Captain will understand when I say 4 months of latrine duty, shared by all of you." Rex smiles smugly at the winces and groaning. "I'm sure it's enough to not do it again?"

"Yes, sir." Echo salutes weakly, and as he turns around, he hears them all pile onto Dir-

"Of course you had to open your big fat mouth!" 

"Would it really have been so bad if it was _just_ Fives?"

"It's okay, Dir. I, for one, thank you."

"I'm regretting it already, Fives."

The hilarity of it carries him all the way to your office- and before he realises what he's doing, he's knocking on smooth metal and you've already answered the door.

"Captain Rex!" You say, lightly surprised but not angry. There's a thin sheet of bacta on your nose to heal what is left of the incident. You shift to the side, ushering him in. He looks at the sparsely decorated room: no medals to speak of, though with your rank he was sure you'd have some. Your desk has a few photos: you with you lieutenants, with who he presumes is your family, and one of a very sweet but very fat akk dog.

"Uh, I don't really eat in here, so I'm afraid I can't offer you anything." You say, scratching the back of your neck. "I've got water, if you'll take that."

"Sure." Rex replies, pulling his helmet off and tucking it under one arm. He sits in the seat opposite your desk as you pour, and takes the glass you hand him gratefully, "Thank you."

"So, what can I do for you?" You ask, settling into your own seat. "Is this something about the upcoming Naboo patrol? Anakin said you were making preparations, but if you need help..." Rex's face falls momentarily. Of course the General said he was preparing it, he was the one who was making the secret Senator meetings went according to plan, after all. His face must be more severe than he realised- you look at him funny.

"Captain?"

"It's nothing. Just remembered that it's _another_ thing to do." He angles for the 'overworked captain' story, and you take it, looking as exasperated.

"The paperwork is killing me. Who knew being loaned to another army meant doing twice the amount of reporting?" You joke, and Rex laughs. You pull your datapad towards you, typing slowly so you can still keep up with him. "I'm sorry, I'm getting distracted again. Captain, what did you want?"

He feels a bit foolish, interrupting you just to tell you this, but Rex has come this far and he would feel a lot worse if he just turned to leave, saying it was nothing. So he bites the bullet.

“My men got over it.” Rex says, and you snap your head up from the display.

“Truly?!” You say, pleased by the development, “That was fast. What happened?”

“Your men got into a bar fight.” Rex tries to say it as seriously as possible, plainly as possible- and he wasn’t sure if you’d react well or not: these were your soldiers, after all- like General Skywalker, you seemed more unorthodox, but he knows you value discipline. Luckily, your jaw slacks with _delight._ You try and fail not to giggle incredulously.

 _Cute_. The thought catches him before he can stop it, but he’s lucky he doesn’t have the time to dwell over it because you finally manage to say something between your cackling: “I’m so sorry, that’s so like them, I-“ You try to swallow down your bubbling laughter, “I’m sorry, Captain, by the Galaxy, how did that help?”

He explains further, giving you the rundown of what he'd heard from Fives. He leaves names out of it, for dignity's sake.

You blink- and then you break into a wide smile. You laugh again, but this time it's not restrained- A beautiful, delighted noise that tears from your throat into the open air, and one that settles into a smug smirk. “Well, that does sound like them. They get terribly attached to people, you know. Was it Jay?”

Rex suppresses a smile. “He... may have been mentioned.”

You shake your head fondly, sobering up, “I swear, they’re better than they seem. And I’m more serious than this.” Though you seem like you’re joking again, there is a real twinge of worry in your tone- and Rex realises something. You were less than a month into fighting with Republic troops, and you really were hoping to make a good impression on his troops and your fellow captain. _Him_. 

That’s why you had been trying to make some conversation, why you’d been hoping your men bonded with the clones, why you had actual joy on your face when Rex had told you what happened in downtown Coruscant. While you were hoping to make friends, he’d been awkwardly cold this whole time. Maybe Cody was right: even for him, this was insanely dense.

"Well.." Rex begins, wanting to ease your tensions by teasing lightly, hoping to hell you could hear the lilt in his voice...“Not exactly great at proving it, are you Captain?” 

You're only taken aback for a moment, before you're grinning at him. “Could that possibly be a joke, Captain?” The way you grin at him makes him figure it worked. “What will the General say?”

Rex snorts at that, thinking of how similar you were to Skywalker, “The General would thank you for getting the stick out my ass.”

The both of you share a quiet laugh, and Rex considers you. "I'd... like to apologise for avoiding you. You and your men are good people. I just..."

"Didn't know what to say after _this_?" You gesture towards your nose, and Rex flushes.

"Well, partly." He concedes, and you don't press for details. “And... I can't be saying this publicly, but please thank your men on my behalf. Being a clone weighs more on us than we like to admit and... this is our duty. We don't need thanks..." He folds his arms, divided on how to put what he wants to say. Finally, he settles on, "But we could at least do without people yelling at us just for being clones."

“They would do it again. Is that all, Captain?” You say his and your rank like it was an inside joke, as if you had known him all along. The friendliness surprises him, though it’s not unwelcome. Not many officers in the Grand Army bothered to treat Rex or his brothers as people worth standing by- or even accept as human.

“It is, Captain.” He nods, and you get out of your seat. He follows suit, walking side by side. The office door opens with a _whirr_ , and he meets your eyes just before he leaves, “Till our next mission together.” 

Your eyes twinkle, leaning against the frame of the door. “Till our next, Captain.”

And as he walks away with a light feeling in his chest, he can't imagine it would be so bad to call you _friend_.

**Author's Note:**

> rex: this topsy turvy world of ~~anguish, shame and self torment~~ denying myself the ability to have fun for the sake of duty
> 
>  _'osi'kyr'_ is a mandalorian exclamation of surprise and dismay. i had to google it to know it, but i thought it fit well and i'm trying to make the clones more overtly mandalorian :D besides this, i'm hoping i get his earlier characterisation right. 
> 
> he was a bit of a hardass at the start of tcw, so i'm trying to write a rex that thinks you're fun, but doesn't want to get too attached to someone who isn't a fellow clone/brother. he's so repressed he'd make a good jedi, i think. and i'm following filoni's tradition of fluff at the start, and more serious themes later. the entirety of this was spurred on by the fact i rewatched pacific rim and i think the drift compatibility sparring session just.... Sustains Me.
> 
> throw me a comment if you enjoyed reading it! feedback sustains me :) and let me know about any errors, or if you'd like to beta-read!


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